A survey of benthic assemblages of foraminifera in tropical coastal waters of pulau pinang, malaysia

The distribution of benthic Foraminifera throughout the coastal waters of Taman Negara Pulau Pinang (Penang National Park), Malaysia was studied to assess the impact of various anthropogenic activities, such as fishing, ecotourism and floating cage culture. Samples were obtained at 200 m intervals within the subtidal zone, extending up to 1200 m offshore at Teluk Bahang, Teluk Aling, Teluk Ketapang and Pantai Acheh. The depth within coastal waters ranged between 1.5 m and 10.0 m, with predominantly muddy substrate at most stations. Water quality analysis showed little variation in micronutrient (nitrite, NO2; nitrate, NO3; ammonia, NH4 and orthophosphate, PO4) concentrations between sampling stations. Temperature (29.6±0.48°C), salinity (29.4±0.28 ppt), dissolved oxygen content (5.4±0.95 mg/l) and pH (8.5± 0.13) also showed little fluctuation between stations. A total of nine genera of foraminifera were identified in the study (i.e., Ammonia, Elphidium, Ammobaculites, Bigenerina, Quinqueloculina, Reopax, Globigerina, Textularia and Nonion). The distribution of benthic foraminifera was dominated by opportunistic groups that have a high tolerance to anthropogenic stressors. Ammonia had the highest frequency of occurrence (84.7%), followed by Bigenerina (50%), Ammobaculites (44.2%) and Elphidium (38.9%). The Ammonia-Elphidium Index (AEI) was used to describe the hypoxic condition of benthic communities at all sites. Teluk Bahang had the highest AEI value. The foraminiferal assemblages and distribution in Teluk Bahang, Teluk Aling, Teluk Ketapang and Pantai Acheh showed no correlation with physical or chemical environmental parameters.